By CESAR JOLITO III

A major seizure of smuggled cigarettes worth nearly P800,000 has highlighted the sustained law-enforcement drive of the Police Regional Office in the Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR), as police units carried out back-to-back operations against smuggling and illegal drugs on Monday, February 16.

In Negros Occidental’s Escalante City, mobile patrollers and intelligence operatives intercepted P787,500 worth of illicit cigarettes during a routine patrol at Barangay Balintawak’s Purok Margarita at 9:02 p.m.

Authorities spotted a man unloading boxes of cigarettes into a white utility vehicle.

When approached, the suspect — identified only by the alias “Sap,” a resident of the same barangay — fled and managed to evade arrest.

Recovered from the scene were 35 master cases of assorted cigarette brands, along with the utility vehicle used in the operation.

All items were documented using body-worn cameras and transported to the Escalante City Police Station for proper documentation and the filing of charges for violations of customs, tax and public health laws.

Earlier the same day, Talisay City police scored another victory as part of the region’s intensified anti-illegal drug campaign.

A buy-bust operation in Barangay Zone 5’s Purok Diwal resulted in the arrest of a suspected drug personality and the seizure of around 20 grams of suspected shabu valued at P136,000.

The suspect, identified as 29-year-old alias “Vic,” unemployed and a resident of Barangay Zone 6, was arrested after selling a sachet of suspected shabu to a police poseur-buyer.

Additional sachets, a plastic canister and marked buy-bust money were recovered during the operation.

Police said the suspect had a prior arrest for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Authorities said all seized items were properly inventoried on site with the use of body-worn cameras.

The drug evidence has been submitted for laboratory examination, and the suspect remains in police custody for legal proceedings./CJ, WDJ